Brendon McCullum will have to play for his Indian side if it qualifies for the lucrative Indian Champions League, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association said yesterday.
With millions of dollars at stake, an expensive tug of war looms as up to three teams vie to secure the classy Black Caps wicketkeeper-batsman's skills for the ICL.
With the Otago opener on duty with the national side in Napier yesterday, NZCPA executive manager Heath Mills was able to shed some light on McCullum's obligations.
McCullum has a watertight Indian Premier League contract with the Kolkata Knightriders and, if they qualify for the Champions League, he has to make himself available for them.
"If Kolkata qualify he would have to play for that team," Mills said.
"When all the players sign IPL contracts, it clearly states they must be available for their IPL franchises in the Champions League."
However, his provincial team, Otago, is also expected to be invited to the tournament after winning the domestic twenty/20 title.
And he has definitely qualified with the New South Wales Blues after crossing the Tasman in late January to play in the Australian twenty/20 domestic final in order to meet eligibility rules.
If Otago's entry is accepted - that seems a mere formality, with New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan confident - the national body would receive a $US200,000 ($NZ400,000) transfer fee if McCullum played for Kolkata or the Blues rather than Otago at the 12-team tournament in India in September-October.
That money would be distributed to the six major playing associations.
Precisely how it would be divided had not been determined, but Otago could expect the lion's share, Mills said.
"We are currently in discussions with the six major associations about that.
Hopefully, we are going to be in a position within the next week or so to agree on something around how everything is distributed."
Just how much prize money is on offer is unclear.
Some media organisations are reporting a total pool of up to $US6 million, with half of that going to the winner.
However, Mills believes the prize money to be less.
"As I understand it, the winning team gets $US2 million and the bottom placed side gets $US 200,000."
